Hillary Clinton aide Huma Abedin is leaving husband Anthony Weiner, who quit Congress in 2011 when he was caught sending other women sexually explicit messages, after yet another sexting scandal.
“After long and painful consideration and work on my marriage, I have made the decision to separate from my husband,” Abedin said in a statement released by the Clinton campaign. “Anthony and I remain devoted to doing what is best for our son, who is the light of our life. During this difficult time, I ask for respect for our privacy.”
Weiner’s Twitter account appeared to be deleted Monday after new sexting allegations about Abedin’s husband graced the cover of Monday’s New York Post. The Post refers to Weiner as a “disgraced ex-congressman” that has been sexting with a “busty brunette” and claims he “sent her a lurid crotch shot with his toddler son in the picture.”
The women, who spoke to the Post on a condition of anonymity, provided photos and screen shots of their conversation. She told the paper that they’ve never met in person, despite Weiner’s repeated invitations.
This appears to have been the final straw for Abedin, who famously stood by her husband when previous sexting scandals derailed his once-promising political career. Earlier this year, “Weiner,” a documentary about the troubled politician, was released to critical acclaim.
Weiner put Abedin in the public eye when one of his various sexting scandals became tabloid fodder in 2011 and forced Weiner had to resign from Congress. Abedin stood by his side through the scandal, much like Hillary did with Bill Clinton.
Abedin is considered Clinton’s closest friend and advisor, and has worked for the Democratic nominee for the majority of her adult life. She was recently profiled in a lengthy Vogue article by Nathan Heller that called her “the engine at the center of Clinton’s well-run machine.”
In the profile, Abedin described that her romance with Weiner wasn’t love at first site.
“Our recollection is not identical,” Abedin told Vogue about the first time she met Weiner, which happened at Democratic retreat in 2001. “But we both remember that I ordered tea, and then left to use the ladies’ room, and then never came back. That was our first meeting.”
“One of the things that, because we became friendly, I found striking about Anthony was how smart he was, what a great debater he was. He was smart, he was passionate,” she told the magazine before calling his passion “very attractive.”
The two married in 2010 and will now separate after six years of marriage.
8 Wronged Political Wives, From Hillary Clinton to Huma Abedin (Photos)
From affairs to sexual assault accusations, the following women had to decide whether to stick by their politician husbands.
Huma Abedin
On Monday, longtime Hillary Clinton aide Huma Abedin announced she was leaving husband, Anthony Weiner, who quit Congress in 2011 when he was caught sending other women sexually explicit messages. Abedin's decision was prompted by new sexting allegations, in which Weiner reportedly sent a brunette a lurid crotch shot with his toddler son in the picture.
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Elizabeth Edwards
Elizabeth Edwards was married to John Edwards, the former U.S. Senator from North Carolina and one-time Democratic presidential contender, who admitted to an extramarital affair in August 2008. He had a child with filmmaker Rielle Hunter, and upon the admission of that, Elizabeth Edwards announced a separation. She died in 2010 of metastatic breast cancer.
Wendy Baldwin Vitter
Senator David Vitter of Louisiana appeared on a prostitution ring's client list in 2007, but Wendy stuck with her husband, who continues to serve in the Senate as a Republican.
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Jenny Sanford
In 2009, Republican South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford admitted to an extramarital affair with a woman in Argentina -- after disappearing from public duties and putting out a false story about a hike along the Appalachian trail. His wife filed for divorce later that year. And Sanford was elected to Congress in 2012.
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Silda Wall Spitzer
Democrat Eliot Spitzer was in just the second year of his term as governor of New York when he was named in a prostitution ring in 2008 and forced to resign. His wife, Slida Wall Spitzer, initially stood by her husband -- but the couple later divorced in 2013.
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Dawn Gibbons
In 2006, Nevada Governor Jim Gibbons was accused of sexually assaulting a woman in a parking garage, but Gibbons claimed he was helping her to her car. The woman didn't initially press criminal charges but filed a civil suit against Gibbons in 2009, alleging battery, false imprisonment and second-degree kidnapping. The suit was settled in 2013 for $50,000. He and his wife, Dawn, divorced in 2010.
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Donna Hanover
In the final years of his term as mayor of New York City, Rudy Giuliani was seen dining with a woman named Judith Nathan, who would later be identified as his lover. He later announced that he was separated from his wife, radio and TV personality Donna Hanover -- much to Hanover's surprise. The divorce was finalized in 2002, after he had left office, and Giuliani married Nathan in 2003.
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Former U.S. Rep.’s Anthony Weiner now-estranged wife Huma Abedin is latest politician’s spouse to be put under the spotlight of a sex scandal
From affairs to sexual assault accusations, the following women had to decide whether to stick by their politician husbands.